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Defense Department form, series DD, number 1696. Full title: Specification Change Notice (SCN). Function: Specification Change Notice (SCN). Edition in force: not stated. Publisher status: not stated.
Prescribing authority: not stated. Proponent: not stated. Unlike service-specific publications, DD forms carry Department-level authority and apply across the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force and Coast Guard when operating under Defense jurisdiction.
Users include uniformed members of any branch, DoD civilian employees, contractor personnel where authorized, and the administrative staff who process the completed record.
When the form is filed is a matter of not stated and local instruction. The description here covers the document itself and how to obtain a copy.
Formats offered: PDF. Length: 1 pages. Fillable field count: roughly 88.
Pdf serves as the base format. In the fillable variant, each box is an interactive field that holds typed text inside the document. In the flat printable variant, no fields exist — the page prints as a blank to be completed by hand. Typed entries survive transmission; handwriting does not always survive scanning.
Xfdl is present in the set. The format belongs to IBM Lotus Forms — long the Defense standard for electronic forms — and needs the matching viewer; pdf applications will report the file as unreadable.
Free download applies to every format listed. Any current pdf reader opens the pdf files, though field behaviour is most reliable in a full desktop reader rather than a browser preview.
What the form asks for
- AddAttachment
- CurrentPage
- DesignApllication_version
- DistStatement
- FormNumber_Date
- Frame
- Header
- JSwarn
- Page1
- PageCount
- Pages
- Rectangle1
- RemoveAttachment
- Row
- Row1
- Row2
- SCNtype5
- Table1
- Table17
- Text1
- ThisNoticeTXT
- ViewAttachment
- add
- add2
The document is filled from the top down. Identification precedes substance, substance precedes certification. Fields lower on the page are commonly keyed to entries made above them.
The current edition is not stated. Superseded editions of DD forms are frequently rejected at the receiving office, since Department-wide forms change centrally and older layouts lose their field correspondence. Edition date appears in the lower corner of the printed blank.
Certification requires a signature in the designated block — ink on paper, or a digital signature where the receiving office supports one. Typing a name into the field does not constitute execution. CAC-based signing is the usual digital method for Defense forms.
Privacy Act notice: DD forms that collect personal data carry a Privacy Act Statement stating the authority for collection, the principal purpose, routine uses and whether disclosure is voluntary or mandatory. The statement is part of the form and should be read before entry, not after.
Recurring errors: entry on a superseded edition, blanks left in mandatory fields, illegible handwriting on scanned copies, dates in a format other than the one the form specifies, missing signature or missing date beside the signature.
Instructions printed on the form or in not stated govern individual field entries. Where the two differ, the governing publication controls.
After completion, the copy goes to the office designated by not stated or by local procedure. Retention of a personal copy is ordinary practice and costs nothing.
Associated forms are traced by number within the series. Because the DD sequence is common to all military departments, no service qualifier is needed to identify a referenced form.
A DD number and a DA number may appear in the same instruction without being related. DA forms belong to the Army alone; DD forms belong to the Department and are administered at Department level. The sequences are independent.
Forms are reissued for several reasons: directive revision, changed data requirements, updated notice language. Confirming not stated at the moment of download covers the risk.
The material here is descriptive. Nothing on the page constitutes legal or procedural advice, and no statement here determines whether a submitted form will be accepted. Such questions go to not stated, a servicing administrative office, or the authority identified in not stated.
Questions and answers
- What is DD Form 1696?
- Specification Change Notice (SCN)
- Which edition is current?
- Not stated by the publisher
- Who is responsible for this form?
- Not stated
- In which formats can it be downloaded?